


It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

by Mamogirl



Category: Backstreet Boys
Genre: Christmas, Fluff, M/M, Mistletoe, Romance, Snow, Time To Be Jolly, slices of life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-28
Updated: 2016-11-28
Packaged: 2018-09-02 20:10:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8681773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mamogirl/pseuds/Mamogirl
Summary: It was good, more than good actually, to finally see the real Brian surface after being submerged into darkness for too long, see that beautiful soul that had managed to capture Nick’s since the first glance, exchanged when Nick wasn’t and couldn’t be able to understand how that boy was going to be part of his life and his world, kicking out the sun from the universe and becoming his centre.





	

_ It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas _

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

___“When I saw you_ __  
_I fell in love_  
_And you smiled_  
_Because you knew.”_

 

 

 

“And here are your two hot chocolates. Anything else sir?”

“You didn’t forget the marshmallows, right?” The man asked as he put the money on the counter and waited patiently for his two hot cups.

“I didn’t.”

“Thanks. And keep the change. Merry Christmas.” The blonde man answered back, a big smile painted on his face as he finally took the two steaming cups and blessed that warmth that was rapidly making its way through his cold and shivering fingers.

He never heard if and what the other man replied back, for his voice got drowned among the joyful and happily notes of a well known Christmas song coming from a car waiting for the streetlight to turn green; children’s screams and shouts, as they were passing the time in what appeared to be an epic snow fight, were coming from the park on the other side of the street. The city lived and breathed that first wave of Christmas air, warmed by that the white glimmer that now painted the green grass, adorned the building’s roofs and made people smile a little bit more and bigger. Or curse, if they happened to slip, fall down or just soak their foot in a puddle when they didn’t look closely to where they were going. Nevertheless it was almost impossible not to be happy and joyful that morning, for the sky still looked like an infinite and endless pearl grey ocean, where not even a tiny white cloud dared to put its head out and see if it could receive an applause. That was the sky when it was preparing itself for another round of snow, another clue along with that particular smell that managed to slip through the aroma of chocolate and sweets from the random stands that had appeared all around the park.  

It was starting to look like Christmas and Nick had already been infected by Brian’s passion, almost close to obsession, with that festivity.

Although it was only the beginning of December, although people had yet to digest all the turkey they had eaten for Thanksgiving, Christmas’s decorations were already popping out as if they couldn’t wait anymore: red and golden were now the clothes the town was wearing; blue garlands decorated the shop’s windows and Christmas’s bells welcomed the customers when they opened the doors; notes from the most famous and traditional Christmas songs lifted from every corners, even from cars just passing by.

Nick smiled at the driver that had let him cross the street and reached Brian, waiting for him and standing in front of one of those shop’s windows that were full of decorations and soon to be gifts. Instead than catching up and giving Brian his chocolate, Nick stopped just a few inches behind for a moment, still having troubles to believe that it was real, that those last four years of living together and loving each other hadn’t been just a dream; sometimes it was still hard to believe, sometimes an old voice loved to raise its tone and tried to ruin all those beautiful and happy things that kept happening in his life; it was still hard to believe that, after years of almost not talking and barely being able to stand in the same room for more than one minute, now it was impossible to separate them, Frick and Frack back to their fullest and improved to the top. And in that moment, in an place that had nothing to do with the glamorous life and playing the role they had been giving such a long time before, Brian seemed to be an enthusiastic and so excited guy, a child that only wanted to be happy because Christmas was finally there:  hands against the glass, nose tip that had longed left its own trace on the surface along with puffs of breath every time they met that cold and snowy air.

And then there was the smile. Brian’s smile. Brian’s famous smile, able to melt fan’s hearts for more than two decades; able to shatter and melt Nick’s heart even if he got to see it every day, the first thing in the morning after waking up and the last before going to sleep. A smile that kept making his heart beating a little faster, as if small butterflies had decided that it was their nest and were now trying to see if their wings could fly. A smile that, finally, was shining, no more held back by those demons and monster that had haunted their time together. Even his eyes were now back to their natural shade of blue and gone were the black signs of too many sleepless nights and an anxiety that had found its way to appear in all its ugliness.

It was good, more than good actually, to finally see the real Brian surface after being submerged into darkness for too long, see that beautiful soul that had managed to capture Nick’s since the first glance, exchanged when Nick wasn’t and couldn’t be able to understand how that boy was going to be part of his life and his world, kicking out the sun from the universe and becoming his centre.

Brian was happy. So Nick was happy, how could he not be? None of them were dreamers anymore, none of them were still convinced that everything could go back to the way it had been or the way it should have been. But the worst had finally been put in the past, those darks days that Nick had never thought he could link or associate with someone who had always been so full of sun and light, of warmth and positivity. Nick was certain that those couldn’t return anymore, though Brian was more skeptical and adopted the “day by day” philosophy and only rolled his eyes every time he would take out his invisible cheerleading pompons and pushed to have a little more of faith. To believe that he could be the brightest star once again.

_“You know that I believe in you,”_

_“And I’m thankful for that. I’m thankful for having you.”_

_“But? Because I sensed a but in your tone. And you know that I don’t like them.”_

_“But you believe in something that’s impossible. I’m old. I’m a ball of anxieties and stress.”_

_“But you’re my ball of anxieties. – Nick had replied with a soft smile, a touch of butterfly on the angle of the lips. – And impossible is just another way to say that I’m possible.”_

_The laughter couldn’t have been contained, it had always been Nick’s superpower, that infinite help that had always managed to pull Brian back from the deepest and darkest waters. “I’ll be the happiest man alive if I can manage to sing for an entire show without sounding as if I’m in the middle of an asthma attack.”_

_“You sound good.”_

_“And flattery isn’t going to save you from washing the dishes. It’s your turn.”_

But Brian was happy, especially that day. So Nick just had to put those memories and thoughts aside, kick them so they would never come back ever again. So Nick had to do the only thing possible in that moment, which was to take out his biggest smile and let himself be washed by the jolly air floating around him. He walked over Brian, brushing his lips on that tiny, almost invisible patch of skin left bare by the jacket and the scarf he was wearing, and be engulfed by the way Brian’s smile perked up as soon as he was Nick’s reflection in the glass.

“Marshmallows!” Brian exclaimed as soon as he took his red cup.

“And that’s the only way to keep you happy.”

“I’m a simple man. – Brian replied as he took a sip from the steamy cup he was holding with both hands. - You got lucky.”

“Yep, I totally did. – Nick couldn’t help but reach out and clean away a dip of chocolate on Brian’s lips. - Do you remember the first time we met?”He then asked as the two started to make their way through the crowd, a hand safely resting on the other’s back.

“As if you would let me forget about it! – Brian laughed as he breathed upon his chocolate to cool it down, nose and cheeks getting more and more colored in the meantime. – You keep making fun of how I was dressed that day!”

“Well, that flannel shirt was exactly what I was expecting from a Southern boy...”

“And you keep forgetting that it was Kevin the one living in the middle of the woods.”

“I was saying... – Nick tried to go back to a serious tone but still his voice was infused and wrapped around those last echoes of laughter. - ... that first time. I was nervous, you know? You were this mystical figure that Kevin couldn’t stop talking about and I really wanted to have a friend. No, not just a friend. A best friend. Everyone got one but me: Kevin wasn’t an option for obvious reasons and Howie and Aj were so close that so many times I felt alone and invisible. And then you came. Do you remember what you did?”

“What did I do?”

“You smiled. You smiled and something clicked. You smiled and I knew that I would never be alone ever again. I guess that had been the moment when I fell in love with you, although at that time I couldn’t know what that feeling was. I couldn’t realize how much my life was going to change and my world becoming so much better and brighter just because you were finally in. But you… - Nick’s eyes fell on Brian’s, that adoring and full of devotion look that always managed to make Brian feel like he could be something special because how could he deserve that kind of love? - … you knew. You freaking knew. You smiled as if you had already seen the future, as if someone had already told you what we were going to be. Or what we had always been, two halves of the same soul and heart.”

It actually happened more times than people might think and guess. It always happened with Nick, as if that man was the only one who could make Brian totally speechless and made him want to look up and thank the Gods above for that rare, unique and so precious gift. The last years had been a continuous and infinite circle of being amazed by the man had chose him as his partner and lover: he had never thought it would be so easy, for him, to cave in and let someone see everything that Brian had always tried to hide and shield from the outside world; he had never thought, wrongly, that Nick could turn into that sensitive, caring and tender soul that would do everything, even the impossible, just to make sure that his world was running right and fixed. Or, maybe, it had always be kinda of hard to think and believe that he could be the receiving end of that tremendous and ravenous love.

But he was. And he would have never been able to come out from the darkness without that love and that support. Without Nick.

So Brian stopped them, placing the still hot chocolate on the first surface he could find, the cold air hitting his hands. It was kinda of weird having to raise his face to look into Nick’s eyes, or just talk to him; yet, at the same time, he loved that difference of height because it was just right, the right amount so they seemed and appeared to fit so perfectly like they had always meant to be. But there was another reason why Brian loved that Nick was a little bit taller than him, a little bit bigger, and that was because his hug, those arms, where the perfect spot to hide, a place where Brian could hold onto when things got rougher and harder, a shield that would protect him from everything that wanted to destroy and shatter him.

“I didn’t know exactly what the future held for us. I wish I had this power, I’d probably saved myself from a lot of things and unwanted drama. – For just a brief instant, a distant look clouded the bright blue but it didn’t last long, not enough for Nick to reach out and do something about it. – I guess I knew that we would always be connected somehow, that we would play an important role in each other’s lives and that, no matter what, we would always be there. That day, in that first meeting, I smiled because I knew that I had found a mate, but I didn’t know that you were going to be my soul mate: maybe friends, biggest friends in the world; colleagues in what already appeared to be the biggest adventure. But what we have now? No, this isn’t something that you can predict. Because it’s magic.”

Nick lowered his head, just that much so his lips could brush and caress Brian’s forehead. It was definitely something magic what they had, there weren’t any other words he could use or know to explain how being with Brian made him feel. They had their ups and downs, they had those dramatic scenes that could have been perfect for a movie or a tv shows and, together, they had been through so many obstacles and difficulties that it was quite a miracle that they had been able to stay normal.

More or less, anyway.

“You know what I love the most about Christmas?” Nick asked after a minute of silence, after a moment when lips brushed and feelings, once again, fired up and took breaths away. He was addicted to it, Nick. The most powerful and innocent drugs, a taste that he knew that he would never grew tired of: he just wanted more and more of it, no matter how many years have passed, how many times they have kissed and how many times he would kiss Brian.

“Gifts aside?” Brian replied, a mischievous smile on his face and a funny and playful light in his eyes. They started walking again, the chocolate cups still warm in their hands and still full to the brink, having being forgotten since that moment. Kids ran around them, other couples were slowly making their way on the sidewalk, taking their time to stop in front of the shops and trying to decide if something could be a perfect gift from someone they knew.

“Yes.”

“Even more than food?”

“Hey! – Nick objected, faking a hurt expression. – It’s not my fault if you and your family cook so well!” Nick’s index was pointing towards Brian’s chest as they stopped in front of the park’s entrance

Brian’s laughter filled the air, batting its wings around Nick and then flying away, disappearing between the first with flakes of snow; one of them landed on Brian’s nose and that ice caress made his smile grow even bigger. “Yeah, it’s all a devil plot!”

“It’s not food. Or gifts. – Nick repeated, taking a step closer to Brian. – My favorite part is decorating.”

“Really? – Brian replied skeptical, an eyebrow arched. – Cause it doesn’t seem that way, since I’m always the one doing it.”

“Well, let’s say that I love one thing about decorating.” Nick took another step closer, all the distance between them finally erased.

“And what is this thing you love the most?” Brian asked, his voice turning into a low whisper.

Nick put his arm around Brian’s waist, his hand resting on the back and pushing the man towards him; he lowered his head, brushing his lips upon Brian’s before coming up to the ears, where his voice became a soft and trembling caress of the wind. “Hanging up the mistletoe.”

“Oh. - Brian only managed to say, his eyes turning into a dark and deep pool of blue. – And this is...”

Nick’s lips returned to their favorite spot to stay, this time the kiss lasting a little longer and making them forget about the world outside; muting the notes of Christmas’s songs and children’s laughter; erasing those flakes that have started to come down more rapidly. “This is rehearsing.”

**Author's Note:**

> It's official open that time of year where I only focus on writing fluff Christmas's stories. lol And is there anything better than Brian and Nick's Christmas's stories? I don't think so! lol  
> This fic is, also, a little bit of celebration because 7 years ago, after going to the This Is Us Tour, I started this incredible adventure of writing. Back in the day, I just wanted to write one story and complete it. Back in the day I wouldn't even dream to write in another language and, yet, here I am. Thank to all the beautiful people that read and review, it's because of you that I keep writing and getting better and better. Or, at least, I hope! lol  
> Thank you from the bottom of my FrickNFrack's heart. <3


End file.
